Curtain



M. DRUCKv April 17, 1951 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed April 27. 1945 y WHL/RME DRL/DK INVENTOR ATTORNEY M. DRUCK April 17, 1951 CURTAIN Filed ApIfil 27. 1945 2 lSheaetvs-Shee'r, 2

ATTORNEY Patented pr. 17, 1951 Application Apilzn 1945, serialNo. 590,554

'Ihis invention relates generally to window cur-vv tainsy and more particularly to window curtain constructions'in which the Window covering panel andI the valance or edge decoration element to-" gether WithY the supporting and rod carrying pore tion are combined in a novel and lhighly useful* manner, and methods of making the same;

In the use of curtains for the restriction' of vi siorrl orreduction of the passage of light through Windows or similar building openings it has been known to associate with: the main'curtainpanel-,.a valancewhichforxns'an auxiliary to the main curtai'n: panel and increases thev decorative' eiTect of; theA entire Window ensemble. In-'order to prop-m erly s'uppo'rt thev main curtain' panel: and the valance, a rod tunnel construction ismosti frequently'used and thisl has'nece'ssitated aplurality of-rods and rod carrying structure. Furthermore' since2 the'ewindbvv coverings aresubje'ct to considl erable dust and dirt; frequent cleaning.- isneces"-n sa'y and this required the dismountingof sepl arate rods;` separate cleaning ofthe'valanc'e and curtain panel; separate insertion' and threa'di'rigv of the rods and the reconnection of the r'o'd's toap-Y propriate' brackets.

Itis among the objects of the present invention to44 provide curtain str'uctureV wherein" the' main or body panel' of the curtain and the valance-are" integral or integratedV so; that the' panelandi valance may be simultaneously supported by al single rod. l

Another' object herein' lies:y in theI provision of curtain structure- Whereiriv th'e valance" and curl tain' panel maybe laundered,V cleanedl,A stretchedfor-med', and/or" dried as a-` single unit?.v l

A'l feature of the present invention lies in\ the fact that curtains constructed in accorda-neetherewith are hung by'a single rodor'simila'r' sp-` portingmember and yet as hung produce Inv aesthetically pleasing appearance and" to a'- large extent create the eiect of separately hungft curi; tain components.

.Another object herein lies in thefprovis'ion of curtain structure' wherein a= desirable iini'shefA heading effect' is obtained with minirniin azin't of material andl labor'so that the same-1nayV be' 'Y producedon a largelscale'with a consequent vvid'ei use'and distribution.

These' objects and other incidental ends',lv and advantages willmore fully appear' inthev progress'rv of this disclosure and be pointed out pendedf claims'.v

the?` drawings in which similarre'ferece: charactersl die sfignafI-teb correspond-ing partsv throughout the several views:

. tional views have the parts exaggerated in thick# sectional view as seen from the plane Zbl-2 on`r Figure'v 1 Figure 3- an( enlarged fragmentary vlertieei sectional view comparable to Figure 2buts`hov`l' ing an alternate form of construction;

Figure 4" is a fragmentary' vertiealscelticnalv view comparable generally toFigure 2 'b`i`1`t'sh'o'iv-A ing ai secondV embodimentl of the'invention Figure- 5 isfafragmentary end elevational of thev curtain structure' shown inFigure 4i during onel stage inthe fabrication= the'ref'.

Fig-urev 6" is a' fragmentary' sectional-*1f view c' parable generally toFigur'e'-H 2` but shovving a* third embodiment oftheinventionf.-

In the drawings the sectional andend elev"?"-T nes's for the purpose'of clarity"i'nlthe'y disclsure, since` it will loe-readily understoodl to these skillediA inthe' BJI, t'O Whihthe pfS'-Illi IVEIOH Il' A a that the curtains described herein may be c posed of any desirable' fabrie' or similar materra-l. 9

Turning novv to the rst e'nbodiment?VY o f the"y invention illustrated in Figures 1 and `2l the" separate curtains generallyV indicated b`yv numerals; lj!) and H arecoir'iposedl of-any'suitableplanay material preferably of a] flexible riii'tiire;v Since the" tWOY cllltlilis I0 II" aref Of substantially identcalconstruction the det'aileddescriptin off onewill suice for both, it being undestod'- that any desiredV number of curtains' mayi be hungI laterally adjacent to each other" on'frd".

As best seenin-Figure 2' the` curtainY IU" includes e bedyi pener r2;Av e'- veieee ls, e; reu@ carrying? turnier orf passage: r4, arid-`V a- Heading |51- r e` rod carrying passage I4 is adapted to be *pener tnated by a suitable" curtain rod such` as'Yv` the rod linka vlfelllknownn'ianne. j a

' llliece'ofmaterialis then; folded upon its'elrwinv an opposite direction (clockwiseas viewed-in Figure'- 2) through substantially;180itojormthe-'bight" or valancefloweredgefold i9.; 'Ehepiecelofmae terial forming the curtain isthenffoldedupon'- itself; (clockwise asf'viewed" inFiglire 2) 'through 3 2| thereof is in juxtaposition and lies rearwardly of the bight I 8.

The parts in the positions as described may be secured by the upper row of stitches 22 and the lower row of stitches 23. The upper row of stitches 22 joins the portions '24 and 25 of the material of which the curtain is composed. The lower row of stitches 23 interconnects the portion 21 adjacent the edge 2| to the portion 26, and with the bight IB there between.

Thus the stitches22 secure the bottom portion of the heading I and the stitches 22 define the upper limit of the rod carrying passage I4.

The lower row of stitches 23 secures the upper portion of the valance I 3 and fixes it with respect to the body I2, and said stitches hold the bight I8 in position which forms a lowermost portion of the passage |4.

As may be seen from a perusal yof Where the fabric 9 has a front surface30 andY zesptufted fabrics; flockedfabrics; printed fabrics; and the like. Y .Y l

.The portOno the rearor wrong. sideof the fabricwljren the curtain is hung would then lie facing thewindow or-building portions sur rounding the same., =By Athe herein described construction both the valance,v heading androd carrying passage are all formed from a single piece of material and are properly disposed and correlated onthe finished unitary, curtain. Only two rows of stitches are necessary to provide these parts in proper organization and arrangement.

In accordance with the alternate form of the first embodiment of the invention shown in Figure 3, for the purpose of avoiding needless repetition, parts corresponding to the rst embodiment are given the same reference characters with the addition ofthe numeral l as a; prefix. Y,

YFrom an examination of Figure 3 it will be seen that the upper edge |2| of the material |09 is disposed rearwardly of the portion |26 and forwardly of the bight IIB. The portion |21 adjacent the edge |2| is thus sandwiched between the portion |26 and the bight |18, and is maintained in this interposition by the lower row of stitches |23.

1 This construction produces a desirable finished effect since there are no exposed raw edges, the edge |2| being completely enclosed within the valance II3.

Turning now to the second embodiment of the invention illustrated in Figures 4 land 5 here again for the purpose of avoiding needless repetition parts corresponding to the first embodiment are given the same reference characters with'the addition of the prefix 2.

As seen in Figure 5 and in accordance with one of the herein described methods, the base material 209 may be folded upon itself in a may then be formed by installing the rows oi stitches 2'22, 206. This operation may be eciently performed by the use of a hemmer and two needle sewing machine (not shown). Continuous operation or as a separate operation the bights 2|9 and 200 may be formed, the former by a counter clockwise bending or folding as viewed in Figure 5 and the latter by a clockwise folding as viewed in said gure. Next the row 201 of stitches is installed and these stitches penetrate the portion 221the bight 208 and the portion 205 of the body 2|2.

After the folding and stitching operations, just described, have been completed, the portion 204 Yis folded upon itself in counter clockwise direction as viewed in Figure 5 and may be pressed. When a rod is passed through the passage 2I4 1 and the curtain 2 I0 thereby suspended, the parts will substantially take the position shown in Figclockwise direction as seen in said ligure, to form ure 4 'in which the valance 2I3 falls forward to cover the forward portions of the row of stitches 201.

As in connection with the prior described emf bodiment the forward or front surfaces 230 of the material 209 are exposed toward the inside of lthe room 'or'toward the front of the curtain,

from which the valance 2I3 projects. Turnng now to the'third embodiment of th invention illustrated in Figure 6 parts corresponding to those of the `first embodiment areV given the same reference characters with the.A

addition of the prex 3. In this form of the invention a combined valance, heading-and rod tunnel forming strip 350 is folded upon -itself adjacent the free edges 35| and 352 thereof tot.y

form thebights 320 .and 3|9. VThe edge 35Iis placed inwardly of the upper edge 32| of the body 3|2 and the upper row of stitches 322 simultane-v ously forms the heading 3|5 and the upper por-- tion of the rod tunnel 3 I4. The stitches 322 pene.

trate the portions324, 325 and`321.

The edge 352 andparticularly the portion 353 is placed in contact with the portion 354- of vthe body panel 3|2 and the lower row of stitches 325 is passed through the portions 353, 354 and 326. This last mentioned row of stitches forms' the upper limit of the valance 3|3 and secures the same to the body 3|2 of the curtain 3|0, and l saidrstitches also dene the lower limit'ofthe4 The upper portion 360 of thev` panel 3|2 forms the rear portion of the rod rod passage 3 I4.

Where desired the portions 380 and 390 of the strip 350 may be omitted so that the heading 3|5 and the valance 3|3 are of a single thickness. Further, if desired the bights 320 and 3|9 may. be retained and may be secured in a lapped condition by suitable hemsv adjoining said bights,l said hems not being shown, but be' Similarly additional ing of a well known type. decorative edging may be applied to the upper and lower edges respectively of the heading and valance, at the It may thus be seen that I havedisclosed novel anduseful curtain constructions and methods of making the same wherebyv valance and" positions of the folds 320 and 'f headed effects are obtained with a minimum of parts and labor. The unitary curtain constructions disclosed provide the appearance given by a curtain with a separately hung and fabricated valance. The advantage inherent in the present constructions lies in the fact that the valance and the curtain being one integral or integrated unit, laundering and pressing operations are greatly simplified.

As will readily be understood, by those skilled in the art to which the present invention relates, a considerable advantage is secured not only in first cost, but also in installation and maintenance expense. With the present invention only a single supporting rod or other comparable means need be used in order to support both the curtain structure and that portion thereof constituting the heading and valance. Furthermore, even though the valance and the curtain are supported from a single rod, a natural and desirable draped effect is formed in each of these parts, and the longitudinal or vertically disposed corrugations constituting the draped effect are independently formed in both the curtain and the valance portion so that the appearance is given of two separate pieces of material hung from two separate supporting rods.

I wish it to be understood that I do not desire to be limited to the exact details of construction shown and described, for obvious modifications will occur to a person skilled in the art.

I claim:

l. A curtain including an integral heading, rod carrying passage, and valance, said curtain comprising a substantially fiexible base fabric extending upwardly and folded upon itself to form a first bight, said fabric extending downwardly from said bight a substantial distance and then being folded upon itself upwardly to form a second bight which constitutes the lower edge of said valance; said fabric continuing upwardly to the general location of the first bight and being folded upon itself to form a third bight surrounding the first bight; said base material being again folded upon itself to form a fourth bight and continuing upwardly therefrom to be again folded upon itself to form a fifth bight constituting the upper edge of said heading; said material continuing downwardly to the location of the fourth bight; means below the fifth bight and above the fourth bight connecting the fabric plies and forming the upper portion of said rod carrying passage; and second means interconnecting the upper edge of the fabric the fourth bight and a portion of the first bight.

2. A curtain including an integral heading, rod carrying passage, and valance, said curtain comprising substantially fiexibie base fabric extending upwardly and folded upon itself to form a first bight, said fabric extending downwardly from said bight a substantial distance and then being folded upon itself upwardly to form a second bight which constitutes the lower edge of said valance; said fab-ric continuing upwardly to the general location of the first bight and being folded upon itself to form a third bight surrounding the first bight; said base material being again folded upon itself to form a fourth bight and continuing upwardly therefrom to be again folded upon itself to form a fifth bight constituting the upper edge of said heading; said material continuing downwardly to the location of the fourth bight; means below the fifth bight and above the fourth bight connecting the fabric plies and forming the upper portion `of said rod carrying passage and also the lower portion of said rod carrying passage and second means interconnecting the upper edge of the fabric the fourth bight and a portion of the first bight.

- MAURICE: DRUCK.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS 

